Review - 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood'

I saw Once Upon a Time in Hollywood last night at the Arclight in Hollywood. The new film by Quentin Tarantino was what I will go out on a limb here and say, was one of his best films he's done since Pulp Fiction. And here's why.

Some people claim that his films are too long. I say that they need to be. They are filled with so many insights into the world he's created, that the time spent detailing certain scenes are what make his films so incredible to watch. That, and his incessant use of gratuitous violence—which is another thing I love about a Tarantino film.

Leonardo DiCaprio plays an almost washed-up actor headed on his way out, going from leading major motion pictures to being the bad guy in weekly television shows, to becoming the bad guy (or heavy) in a string of spaghetti westerns. Brad Pitt plays his hapless stunt double who, when not being thrust upon a production company as Leo's choice of stunt double, is his gopher when not on set—and he's more off set than on, due to the fact that studio people don't really like him, or his history off set.

Margot Robbie plays Sharon Tate—the person who was gruesomely murdered by Charles Manson in the late sixties by his infamous cult of wackos, and is very prevalent in the storyline of this film. And all of their stories tie together somehow in this strange yet extremely well detailed period piece of 1969.

One of the things i absolutely loved about this movie is the moments when Tarantino took you around his 1960's era Hollywood. I happen to live about 6 miles from Hollywood and can tell you, this was no easy feat. The stretches of streets and highways and countless fifties and sixties era cars involved had to be some of the hardest permitted street blocking or film zoning in scene setting undertaken in Hollywood in a long time, if ever. His attention to detail is just remarkable and adds so much to the story that you find yourself lost in that time zone without even recognizing it. Many times throughout the film I found myself whispering 'wow' under my breath at the scenery as it is unfolded in the story. And then, the story—so well woven and thought out that you wish you were there at the time, somehow, so that you could feel the intensity of the moment when one of the many crescendos of the moment take place.

I have been a background extra for many productions since I moved here, and the feel of the sets he shows you during the film's story feels real and apropos of the moment. Each scene, with the close up of a label, or commercial, or background noise, or song being played or radio ad overheard was a trinket of joy to my eyes and ears while watching this, and helped with the fact that I was completely engulfed in the film, losing myself to the moment and magic of this movie.

It's 2-hour-and-42-minute running time may sound like a long time, but I barely noticed it—and I saw the film at 10 PM, and left the theatre close to 1 AM! I strongly recommend watching this movie in a theater and not waiting for streaming or dvd, as I can't imagine not being able to view the scenery and special effects the way Tarantino designed them to be seen. But definitely go see this movie!